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recalls readers

The recent fuss over Toyota’s recalls has brought a lot of attention to a previously rather boring car feature: brake override. It wasn’t a very sexy feature until we began reading about throttles gone rogue, taking drivers on a terrifying ride. Brake override, and its absence on the affected Toyota models, became very interesting all of a sudden. But how does it work? Does it really work? Our sister publication Consumer Reports has a test track and some Toyotas lying around, so they set out to find out. [More]

As more reports of runaway Toyota Prius vehicles begin to pile up, there is an ever-widening chasm between those who ask “Why didn’t the driver just put the car into neutral?” and those who reply “Because it doesn’t work on a Prius.” Well, one series of incredibly interesting — but also entirely unscientific — road tests will likely only add fuel to the debate’s fire. [More]

“Brakes, brakes not working!” screamed Lee moments before crashing his 1996 Toyota Camry into the back of another car, killing a family of three. In 2006, the Minnesota jury didn’t believe this testimony and sentenced Lee to 8 years in prison. In 2010, they might be changing their mind. [More]

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